Gift Guide · By Recipient

For a New Couple

Three characters for the engagement, the wedding, the new home — every threshold of a marriage's first year.

The picks

A gift for a newly engaged or newly married couple should belong to both of them, equally — and to the home they are about to build. These three Chinese characters are the classical wedding-and-after vocabulary.

和 (Hé) — Harmony

The character every Chinese parent wishes for their newlywed child. 和 is the marriage that is also a friendship — two voices that fit, learning each other’s rhythm. The right wish for a marriage just beginning.

See 和 →

喜 (Xǐ) — Joy / Double Happiness

The defining wedding character. 喜 — and especially its doubled form 囍 — has decorated Chinese weddings for centuries. The classical first choice for any new union.

See 喜 →

福 (Fú) — Blessing

For the home they are starting together. 福 is the catch-all blessing for the years ahead — health, comfort, family — and the most-displayed character at any threshold in Chinese tradition.

See 福 →

Each character is hand-brushed by Artist Lina Sun on rice paper.

See on Etsy